Thin Ice
by RavineWreyn
Summary: Aspiring ice-skater Elsa Arendelle had unexpectedly gotten herself tangled in the most complicated scandal that prompted her to step out midway through competition. Yet she was determined in her decision no matter what her sister and her fellow ice-skater think of it. [ModernAU] [Helsa]
1. Chapter 1

**This is intended to be just a short series to be posted in Instagram, but I figure I'll posted here to so I can share it with even more people.**

It was a decision that she had been thinking over and over, though she really did not have to.

She knew she had to do it.

The decision was announced for the very first time during her press-conference after she had won the gold medal during the regional competition, despite not executing her routine perfectly the way she had planned it, one which would send her to compete internationally.

If she wasn't stepping out, that is.

They had bombarded her with questions on why she had chosen to abandon the chance all of the sudden, to waste the very chance to win another medal, to suddenly called off her routine. Yet she had remained silent, refusing to give them the explanation at the time, though she did promised that there would be one eventually. She was just unprepared to lay it all out now.

Her sister had chased her down the halls then as she was returning to gather her belongings before heading back to the hotel they were staying, grabbing her wrist as she demanded for an answer, as she also had not been aware of the sudden decision.

"It's not about that." Elsa had shook her head when asked if the recent death of their parents a couple months ago had been the one reason why she had decided that she had enough of skating, even when it did took a great effect of sadness to her. Talking in the halls would be foolish though, as someone could pass by and overhead them, thus why she had tugged her younger sister to her private break room, making sure she had locked the door before turning her attention back at the awaiting girl. "I'm pregnant, Anna."

"Wait, what?" With brows furrowed in disbelief, the strawberry blonde haired girl had eyed her older sister. "Are you sure? Because if you had taken the test it could have been wrong and-"

"I took three different tests, all resulting in positive." It had been a hectic day for her back then, as she had locked herself in the bathroom glaring at the small white sticks as she sat on the toilet for hours. "I also went to the doctor to be absolutely sure, I see _and_ hear the heartbeat of my child there."

Finding the need to sit down, Anna had stumbled backward until she let herself sunk down onto the black leather couch. "It's really not the best timing, huh?" The platinum blonde haired woman had shrugged, as she had passed the shock of discovering her pregnancy already, leaving her feeling determined about her decision more than ever. "You're not showing yet though."

Her nose scrunched up, knowing the point her sister was trying to express, as she folded her arms over her chest. "I'm not risking my pregnancy for some medal." She had plenty of those; this baby in her womb though was something entirely new and precious. "I can't even train properly anymore, not when I want to vomit with every spin I make." She had been sweating right after finishing her routine on the rink not only from exhaustion but also from forcing to keep her meal down.

"Okay, stupid question since I should have asked this earlier but… who's the father?"

She also had prepared herself for that question, as it was only natural to be asked about the identity of who had fathered her child, especially when she was never known to have a romantic relationship with anyone. "Hans Westergaard." An ice skater just like her, competing in the male category so he was not exactly her competitor, one she had once partnered up for a small amount of time. "We slept together a couple of times." They had agreed to keep their relationship to themselves, tired of having their lives exposed by press into public's eye, yet apparently that would not last long now.

"I thought you don't like the guy." It was natural for Anna to question it, as she was not wrong on the part where she didn't like him; at least she didn't before she could actually know him personally. "And why didn't you tell me any of this sooner?"

"Relationships among athletes can be scandalous, Anna, you know that." It could end their careers, should people find it to be in any kind of way problematic, their professionalism questioned, and worst their lives would be lacking even more peace than before. "We never really talked about the future anyway."

"Wait, does he know?" Met with silence, the younger sister let out a loud sigh as she got up from the couch to meet her sister at eye's level. "He has to know, Elsa, he's the father."

"I was planning to, mind you; I just haven't found the right way to do it." She needed to find a proper way, words that she would use to him, all the possibilities that she would have to face and how she would react to each and every one of them, especially the worse ones. "But of course I'm going to tell him, just… keep this to yourself for now, okay?"


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm glad you guys like this, I truly do. Now, this is a very short... short. It only consist of three chapters so after this, the next one is the finale.**

"You couldn't possibly be pregnant."

Her brows furrowed, as she could not understand why no one had believed her about the news that she delivered, she knew her body more than anyone. "I'm pretty sure that I _am_ , Hans."

The auburn haired man, like any other, had questioned the reason behind her stepping out of the competition when she had come to his room back at the hotel, as he had expected to see and be with her for the international league since both of them had passed with a gold medal around their necks. "And I'm the father?"

"I don't sleep with anyone else but you; so yes, you are." Honestly, no one expected her to sleep with _anyone_ , let alone more than one man at the same time. "What is it?" The look on his face was something that she had wished she would not have to see, and it almost scared her to even ask, but the words rolled off her tongue anyway.

"I can't leave the competition for this, Elsa." His fingers ran through his hair as he advert his gaze down to the carpeted floor. "You chose to do it, but I can't do the same."

"I'm not asking you to." She said matter-of-factly as blue eyes watched the man standing in front of her. "I made that choice because I _physically_ can't compete anyway." Her center of gravity would shift during her pregnancy; she would have to adjust to that while she constantly felt nausea, not to mention the leotard costumes that would only _highlighted_ her belly even more. "You can still compete however you like."

"Not with a scandal gnawing at my back like this!" The sudden raise of his tone took her by surprise, enough for her to unconsciously take a step back. "I impregnated one of public's most beloved female skaters which prompted her to leave the competition, how do you think people would react to that? I could lose my career, Elsa, I could lose _everything_."

He cared more about his career than of her and the child they made together. She should've known, she should have not being clouded by the thought that perhaps he was not the jerk she had thought he was at first; she had completed fooled herself by thinking that he was the man she has imagined him to be. "You certainly lose _me_ , and this child." Her lips trembled, as well as her hands, yet she refused to break down in front of him. "I never asked you to take responsibility, you certainly _should_ but that's up to _you_ , I'm quite capable of raising and taking care of this child by myself, thank you very much. I'm telling you this because you're the father and it would be cruel of me to leave you in the dark."

Turning to leave, as she no longer had the desire to spend another minute in the same room with him, she made her way toward the door, yet stopping midway from opening it fully to look over her shoulder to him. "And don't worry, I'm not telling anyone about this, so don't fret about your career, it'll be there with you."

* * *

She heard the slam of the door, and the quiet sniffled that followed.

Yet she waited instead of barging through the connecting door between the two rooms, giving her older sister some time for herself as she was known to only express her true emotions when she was alone, but still Anna sat at the door, listening to the movements inside.

When all had gone quiet a couple hours later, she pushed herself off the floor, yet stopping when her hand rested on the knob. What if Elsa had locked it? They both promised not to, to give the privacy they need yet also able to come and go when they needed to, but hearing how upset the older sister had been, she wouldn't be surprised to find it locked.

Yet it didn't. And ever so quietly she creeped into the room, dimly lit and quiet, before closing the door behind her. Her sister was already asleep; it seemed, with her back toward her as she faced the curtained big window instead, the thin sheet only reaching her hip, exposing the powder blue tank top she was wearing to bed.

With the AC on blast like this, somehow Elsa still did not find herself shivering from the cold.

The strawberry blonde haired girl quietly climbed onto the bed, careful not to make the mattress shift so much, before settling herself behind her sister, wrapping an arm around her as she pressed her cheek against her back.

"Anna…?"

"I'm here." She murmured in confirmation, hand feeling around until she found Elsa's, intertwining their fingers together in her form of support. "Don't worry, Elsa, I'll always be here."


	3. Chapter 3

She was _glowing_.

He had known that after stepping out of the competition, she would devoted herself to the company her father had left for her, to take over after her parents' departure. It was why, despite her wish to go and move to Norway, her birthplace before she was brought to live in New York where her sister had been born, she remained.

And for him to accidentally find her in the most unlikely place.

Standing in the supermarket, facing the frozen food section with the bright red plastic basket by her feet, she was dressed in a comfy coat to accommodate with the early winter with her hands stuffed in the pockets.

For months he hadn't seen her, had not dared to, as he was obviously the last person that she would wish to see anyway. She had confirmed that she was pregnant, just two days after she stepped out of the competition, yet refused to tell who the father was, stating that it was a private matter than she wished to remain private. Someone did asked if it had been him, as he had been her partner for a short amount of time, yet she firmly stated that they had no relation whatsoever other than being friends, keeping with her promise that it would not affect his career in any way.

Yet as much as she had cut him out of her life, he _had_ to speak with her, because he was _responsible_ no matter what.

So he dared himself to approach, ignoring the heavy lump in his throat as he took his hands out of the pockets of his pants. When he reached her, just by her side, she remained silent, her head didn't even turn to look at him, or perhaps she didn't notice him? "Elsa."

"Don't." Her voice was quiet, yet firm nonetheless, as her hand grabbed the bag of peas, placing it in her basket before she took the basket and turned to leave, yet he was quick enough to grab her wrist to keep her in place. "Let go of me."

"I need to talk to you."

"I don't want to."

A straight rejection slapped over his face as she freed her wrist out of his grasp, and though he could easily chase over her, he had only followed her around without touching her, as he realized invading her personal space was the wrong move to make. "Elsa, please, you're pregnant with my baby, I realized, for far too late, that we have to talk _eventually_."

The clenching of her jaw was apparent as she stopped to grab a can of corn out of the shelf. "Fine, then talk."

"I'm so sorry; I was a jerk, a total douche, I don't even know if I'm capable of your apology." Her only respond was a low unimpressed hum from her as she kept her eyes fixed on the products, yet he wasn't sure if she was contemplating on what to buy or to avoid his gaze, perhaps both. "I was afraid, I never expected you to be pregnant, and I wasn't thinking straight. I was being selfish and only think of myself, I chased over something foolish and left something precious instead. I didn't even win the gold."

"Yes, I know, I watched it on TV." He could feel his face burned at this as did his heart, because she _watched_ him, no matter what he had done to her; she still kept their promise of watching each other's performance.

She was so _cold_ , and he couldn't blame her for it. For everything that he had done to her, for her to let him talk was considerate d enough. "Elsa, I'm so sorry for everything. After you left, each day I felt as if something inside of me had died, I realized that you and the baby are worth more than thousands of medals, worth of everything in this _world_. When you told everyone you have no relation with me, I felt as if my life had just shattered right there."

"But it's true, isn't it?" Her head had finally turned to face him, and angry tears had started to build up in her eyes. "We never dated each other, we just happen to _sleep together_ and have a baby, right?"

"Elsa-"

"Just stop, Hans." Her hand went up to her face, the heel of her palm rubbing against her eye to dismiss the smallest piece of evidence on how much he had break her. "I'm tired, I got everything I need, and I want to go home instead of standing around in the supermarket. So let me go."

"Can I drive you home?" Her house wasn't far, and he had known her habit of walking instead of taking her car when she needed to buy something from the store. "Please, it's the least that I could do for you."

* * *

"Where's Anna?"

Out of politeness, and his insistence of carrying the brown grocery bag for her, she had invited him into her house. He had never stepped into it before, had only seen the outside of it, and must he say that it truly matched with her; simple and elegant with a touch of modern glamour.

"With Kristoff," she had made her way to the kitchen, no doubt to unload her grocery, while he still stood in the family room, staring at the portrait of her with her sister and late parents after one of her competition as she was still wearing her costume, smiling at the camera as she wore the gold medal around her neck proudly. "You should be thankful, she's probably going to punch you the second she sees you."

He must have been too quiet, too deep in drinking the surrounding of where she had been living, that she had come back from the kitchen with a raised eyebrow and arms crossed over her chest, already gotten rid of her coat and left her with cream sweater, jeans, and the boots she had been wearing.

And God, she was _gorgeous._

She had always been beautiful, breath-taking and able to turn heads around, but she was absolutely magnificent with the baby bump that has grown and stretched the sweater at her midsection. He wanted to slap himself for missing it, the chance to see his child grows with his own eyes.

"How far along are you?"

Again her jaw clenched, and he knew him discussing about their child was something that was not entirely comfortable for her, even _painful_ to talk about. "Twenty weeks." Her arms remained crossed as she answered, almost reluctantly.

"I missed half of the pregnancy." Again his heart hurt, burning inside his chest, at the thought that he wasn't there for so many things; the morning sickness, the first ultrasound, the first movement of the baby. Lars was right; when she needed him the most, he wasn't there.

There was a bitter laugh that sounded more like a scoff as she rolled her eyes. "No shit, Sherlock."

"Elsa, please, let me make this right. I made the biggest, most idiotic mistake; we both know you're the intelligent one between us anyway." He approached her, and though blue eyes narrowed, she didn't flinch when he came face-to-face with her, though her face remained straight when he placed his hands on either of her cheeks. "I don't deserve it, but I _want_ a family, I want to be with you."

For a moment there was nothing but silence between them before he felt her softening under his touch, his thumb wiping off the lone tear that had decided to fall from the corner of her eye. "It took you long enough."

"I know; I'm as slow as a damned snail, huh?"

He took the initiative to lean forward, and when she didn't push him away, he captured her lips with his own. He was gentle in kissing her, taking his time to ease them comfortably as his hands moved down to her belly, marveling at the curve of it.

The sudden movement from within did make him pulled away, taken by surprise while Elsa just chuckled as she put her hand where his was. "She doesn't want to be left out."

"It's a girl?" When she nodded, there was a mixture of emotions in his heart; one where he was angry to himself for even missing the reveal of his child's gender, and two was a surge of protectiveness because it was not just a _baby_ anymore, it was a little girl, _his_ little girl. "Did you pick a name?"

"I have some in mind," Elsa shrugged as she let her fingers tangled in his auburn hair while he had crouched down to pay closer attention to her bump. "But I want to see her first before deciding." Deep down, she truly missed this, she missed _him_ , and she had wanted to have him like this with her, to support her and to love their daughter together, even when he had hurt her in the past. "I'm open to suggestion though, should you have a list for names."

 **The ending is cheesy, I know. I'm the worst at making endings lol**

 **Yes, it may be a little too easy for her to forgive him, but since it was meant to be a short story that I write when I'm stuck with 'Chess Piece', I don't really want to write overly complicated one.**


End file.
